A Warp in Time and Not Space
by Jerm
Summary: Time travel has suddenly become more dangerous.


A Warp in Time and Not Space  
by  
Jerm

* * *

"Step right on up, any of you who have the time and the courage! Our Super Dimension Warp is the invention of the century!"

The man held his arms out as he pitched his invention before a crowd of bored onlookers. This was Taban, and he was very excited today. He paused briefly in his tirade as he ran to his right, to highlight more of his toy, "To use it, jump up here!"

Sitting atop the invention was his daughter, Lucca, who turned briefly to wave at the crowd at her acknoledgement. She gave an extra wave to Crono before turning around again to continue finetuning her work.

Taban meanwhile, continued relentlessly. He ran back over in the other direction, to his left, and held out his hands to the other half of the machine, "And you'll get teleported here!"

The crowd remained emotionless, bored. Taban decided to skip the rest of the introduction and get down to business. "It's the masterwork of my beautiful daughter, Lucca," he said admiringly as he walked back over to her half.

Once again, Lucca turned to wave at the crowd. Deja vu. However, this time she didn't turn back to the telepod. Instead, she stood back up as she noticed her Crono heading her way. She pushed up her glasses and greeted him, "Crono! Where have you been? No one wants to try the telepod. How about you?"

He seemed apprehensive about the idea and about to decline when a girl walked up beside him and looked in awe at the invention, "It looks like fun! I'll watch while you try it out."

Crono sighed, then nodded his head. Get it over with. Lucca grabbed his hand and pulled him up to the device. "Just hop onto the left pod," she said as she led him up the steps.

He followed her, still apprehensive, but determined to go through with it. There were too many people watching now. Then she left him and hopped back down to the control panel. To her right, Taban did the same with his. They activated.

Crono closed his eyes, trying to keep a stoic, calm face about him. _It won't work anyway,_ he told himself, _I won't have to worry about being torn to bits or any-_

Then the crowd gasped in front of him and he heard Lucca yelling something grand above the clamor, though he couldn't hear. She wasn't next to him anymore. Quickly, he opened his eyes and noticed he wasn't where he was before. The machine had worked.

He stepped off the telepod making sure not to trip on anything as the girl, Marle ran up to congratulate him, "What a kick, I wanna try it next!"

He could only shrug to that, as she turned away from him to talk to Lucca about it. The two began mumbling to each other, then Lucca turned to give Crono an undecipherable look. He smiled back at her.

"Hang on, Crono. I'll be right there," Marle called over to him as she let Lucca guide her to the telepod.

He merely stepped back and mingled with the crowd again. This time he'd keep his eyes open. To the right, Taban had returned to the theatrics, "Behold ladies and gentlemen, as this vision of loveliness steps aboard the machine!"

Marle positioned herself in the center of the device and hugged herself, possibly afraid that if anything was hanging out, it wouldn't get teleported with her. Lucca, satisfied that everything was in order, jumped down and began to repeat the procedures again. Taban activated his half while continuing to the crowd, "Okay everyone, let's give her a great big hand when she reappears!"

Lucca pulled her switch as well and the machines began humming in harmony. More buttons were pressed, the father and daughter keeping in unison.

Then a third humming began as something under Marle's shirt began glowing.

_Did that happen to me?_Crono thought, instinctively look down at his own chest.

"What's happening?" Marle proclaimed, answering Crono's question; she took out the necklace she wore, "My pendant, it's-"

Before she could finish, she disappeared, falling into infinite without a trace. Her pendant fell in her wake, crashing upon the telepod with a clank.

xxxxx

Marle was travelling through time. 400 years reversed themselves as she sailed by. 1000AD fighting to become 600AD. And over that time, cities were built, destroyed. And kingdoms rose and fell. Mountains that had been eroded began to climb to the skies again. And the weather shifted and churned, trying to catch up.

Further out, as the 400 years went by once again, the planet revolved and spun, and it raced around the sun. And as the 400 years went by, the sun moved briefly, the galaxy spun and shifted, and the universe itself moved to a degree unknown to man.

When the 400 years were finished, Marle was thrown back into the world. And while the planet, the sun, the galaxy, and the universe had moved, the time gate had not.

Her Earth was now about 50000 miles to her right.

Marle promptly exploded in space.

xxxxx

Taban looked over to the telepod on the right, but there was no one there either. She really had disappeared. His neck swung the other direction, "Lucca! Where is she?"

Lucca merely shook her head, "I don't know."

"Show's over, folks!" Taban took charge quickly, ushering the people out, "Let's head along now."

When he was finished, only Crono remained. Taban didn't bother making him leave, he was a part of this as well. Instead, he turned back to his daughter, "What happened there?"

"The way she disappeared," Lucca paused in thought, trying to remember the details, "It couldn't have been the telepod. The warp field seemed to be affected by her pendant."

All three looked over to where the necklace sat, silent and still upon the machine. "What are we going to do now?" Taban asked, though it was obvious what one solution was.

Crono knew that, too. He broke from his stoic state and walked briskly over to the left telepod, scooping up the pendant with one hand. Behind him, Lucca called his name, trying to get his attention. Taban added his piece, "You're actually going to go after her?"

He merely nodded as he put the pendant around his neck. Then he turned to Lucca as she gave him brief instruction, "Listen, I don't know where this machine is going to send you, but we haven't any other choice."

"Won't the both be lost?" Taban asked, trying to put some reason into Crono.

Lucca shook her head, "This is our only hope! That pendant seems to be the key," she gave Crono a stern glare, "So hang on to it and brace yourself!"

This time Crono didn't close his eyes. He watched as they activated their machine and began cranking up the power. And then the brightly enveloped him as well. And he felt a pull on him, like gravity had died and he was floating. In the distance he heard Lucca yell to him, "I'll follow you after I know what went wrong. Good luck, Crono!"

And then everything went black and silent.

xxxxx

Crono was travelling through time. 400 years reversed themselves as he sailed by. 1000AD fighting to become 600AD. And over that time, cities were built, destroyed. And kingdoms rose and fell. Mountains that had been eroded began to climb to the skies again. And the weather shifted and churned, trying to catch up.

Further out, as the 400 years went by once again, the planet revolved and spun, and it raced around the sun. And as the 400 years went by, the sun moved briefly, the galaxy spun and shifted, and the universe itself moved to a degree unknown to man.

When the 400 years were finished, Crono was thrown back into the world. And while the planet, the sun, the galaxy, and the universe had moved, the time gate had not.

His Earth was now about 50000 miles to his right.

Crono promptly exploded in space.

xxxxx

Lucca burst back into the area that had been designated for her invention. In her hands, she clasped a small wandish object she had thrown together. It was a gate key, and her only means of following Crono. And returning with him from wherever he and the girl had ended up.

Taban looked up as she entered, and stood from his sitting position, "Are you sure this'll work?"

"Trust me," she said as she walked up to the center of the telepod, where the disturbance had been located, "I'll be back with Crono before dinnertime."

She waved her magic wand and activated it. And a gaping maw of a time rift opened and devoured her in one bite.

xxxxx

Lucca was travelling through time. 400 years reversed themselves as she sailed by. 1000AD fighting to become 600AD. And over that time, cities were built, destroyed. And kingdoms rose and fell. Mountains that had been eroded began to climb to the skies again. And the weather shifted and churned, trying to catch up.

Further out, as the 400 years went by once again, the planet revolved and spun, and it raced around the sun. And as the 400 years went by, the sun moved briefly, the galaxy spun and shifted, and the universe itself moved to a degree unknown to man.

When the 400 years were finished, Lucca was thrown back into the world. And while the planet, the sun, the galaxy, and the universe had moved, the time gate had not.

Her Earth was now about 50000 miles to her right.

Lucca promptly exploded in space.

* * *

This ends "A Warp in Time and Not Space."

Began: April 17th, 2002  
Ended: April 17th, 2002


End file.
